Worth more than 50 beli
by callosum
Summary: Chopper's depressed over his 50-beli bounty and seeks reassurance from Zoro. Slight hints of Zoro/Nami.


Usual disclaimers apply: I do not own One Piece or its characters, etc.

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"Zoro."

The green-haired swordsman opened one eye to see Chopper standing before him, twiddling his hooves. "_Doushita_, Chopper?"

"Can I - can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, climb on." Zoro sat up a little more, straightened his legs and let Chopper sit on his knees. When he was well-ensconced Zoro bent his legs again so that he and Chopper were sitting face-to-face.

Nami suppressed a smile as she watched from a distance. The rest of the crew had long noted Chopper's fondness for Zoro. He spent more time with Usopp, listening to his tall tales, but when he wanted to confide in somebody, he always went to the gruff swordsman.

Zoro seemed to reciprocate the reindeer's fondness, too, for Chopper was the only one who could rouse Zoro from a nap un-grumpy.

"So, what's wrong?" Zoro asked.

"Well...it's...it's that 50-beli bounty," Chopper began.

"What about it?"

"It's...it's so small! It's like...I'm not even a valuable member of this crew! Like...I'm worthless!"

Wide awake now, Zoro stared evenly at the tiny doctor. He looks unusually thoughtful, Nami thought.

"Well...big bounties aren't everything," Zoro began.

"They do too! I saw how happy you and Luffy were when yours went up! Yours is two...two million times what mine is!"

"2,400,000 times actually," Zoro corrected automatically. Seeing the reindeer's ears curl downwards in disappointment, he hastily said, "Not that the extra 400,000 makes any difference. You see, Chopper, a bounty doesn't correlate at all with the worth of a person."

"Does too. You and Luffy are the strongest on this ship, and you have the highest bounties."

"It doesn't always go that way. I used to collect bounties, back when I was called Pirate Hunter Zoro. One of the strongest men I've ever fought was worth just 10,000 beli. And there was this one guy worth 6 million who was a complete wimp. How much bounty you get is proportional to how much attention you've attracted from the Marines, not to how strong you are."

"So I didn't fight well enough to get the attention of the Marines." Chopper's ears drooped still further.

Zoro frowned. This wasn't working. He'd have to try a different tack.

"In any case, you should feel lucky you have a small bounty," he shrugged.

"Lucky?"

"Yup. Let's say we run out of money. You know what Nami's back-up plan is?"

"N-no..."

"She's gonna take Sanji and sell him for 77 million beli."

"She is?" the reindeer squealed, wide-eyed.

"No, she's not!" Nami launched a flying kick at Zoro's rib cage. Zoro absorbed the blow and merely grunted in response.

"Watch it, you might hurt Chopper," he glared up at her.

"Honestly! Chopper, don't listen to any more of his nonsense! Zoro, you're as bad as Usopp!"

"I'm just trying to cheer Chopper up!"

"Then do it properly!" She folded up her arms and stood by them, as if she was supervising.

"Fine, fine!" Zoro grumbled. "Fact of the matter is, Chopper, I'm glad you have a low bounty. The Marines won't be after you if they think you're just our pet."

"How is that good? I want to do my part, I'm not just a pet!"

"No, Chopper, you're our doctor. What'll happen to the rest of us if you get captured or injured?"

"But I want to fight! Like you guys!"

"Chopper. What's it like, when you're treating us? After a battle, when we're seriously injured?"

Chopper swallowed. "Well...I'm...usually pretty nervous, afraid that I won't be in time, that you might slip away before I can treat you. But at the same time I feel really clear-headed because I know what I have to do. It's as if...my instinct is taking over, doing all the stuff I need to do to treat you guys."

"That sounds pretty much like what I feel like when I'm fighting. I go into this zone where my swords do the thinking for me. In other words...when you're treating us, Chopper, you're fighting too."

"I am?"

"Yup. You're fighting not for your own life, but for all our lives."

"Really?"

"Yup. You're a fighter, Chopper. Even if the World Government doesn't consider you a threat, you're as valuable a member of the crew as anyone."

"I didn't think about that! You're right, I am fighting!" Chopper was so astounded by the revelation that he didn't even do his usual don't-think-you-can-flatter-me-with-your-compliments tail-waggle. "Thanks, Zoro! I feel much better now!"

Chopper hopped down off Zoro's knees and scurried away, back to his books and herbs.

"So how'd I do?" Zoro asked.

"You passed," Nami replied.

"Mmm...time for a nap," Zoro yawned. He was fast asleep again within five seconds.

Nami continued watching him for a moment, then went to the ship's aft where Robin was reading.

"_Ne_, Robin."

"Yes, Nami-san?"

"Remember our conversation last week? I think you were right. Zoro would make a good father."

Robin smiled.

"But...how did you know?"

Robin shrugged. "He looks the type." _I've kept your secret as I promised, Kenshi-san_, she thought, _but I always knew Nami-san would find out for herself someday._

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Hi everyone, this is my first fic so please review. Thanks!

In case anyone was wondering why Zoro is so good at math, I figured that since he's always counting to astronomically high numbers while he's doing push-ups etc he should be be pretty handy with them. Also I'm a math geek :-)

Extended author's note in response to a reviewer's question, may be a spoiler if you haven't gotten past the Enies Lobby arc:

The secret Robin is referring to is from an anime filler episode set post-Enies Lobby, where Zoro is co-opted into taking care of 3 babies while shopping for groceries. Everywhere he turns, he sees a Strawhat or someone he knows, and he keeps having to hide in order to preserve his macho image. Naturally, Robin spots him but she promises not to tell anyone, though she smirks a little and tells Zoro it suits him. I've always found this episode hilarious (if rather OOC).


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